


The New and the Familiar

by WizardSandwich



Series: Like Cadets Do [2]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Awkwardness, First Dates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25045156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WizardSandwich/pseuds/WizardSandwich
Summary: Shockwave and Bumblebee go on their first date.
Relationships: Bumblebee/Longarm Prime | Shockwave, Bumblebee/Shockwave
Series: Like Cadets Do [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813861
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	The New and the Familiar

**Author's Note:**

> this is a commission for whirly-says-be-gay-do-crime on tumblr!

Longarm has never been on a date before. A good thing because _Shockwave_ has never been on one either. It would be an embarrassing fact for him if it were not encased in dedication and duty to the Decepticon cause.

As it is, though, inexperience makes him nervous. It is an emotion he’s familiar with, but only on the barest of levels.

“So, where’re we going, Longy?” Bumblebee asks, looking up at him with his signature grin in place. But it looks wobbly and that is enough to calm Shockwave just a bit. Bumblebee is nervous too and that is somehow reassuring.

“I thought we’d go get some energon,” Shockwave says carefully, watching Bumblebee’s face for his reaction. “There’s a diner a few blocks away from a transport station downtown. I thought we could take a shuttle there.”

Bumblebee simply nods, expression turning somewhat contemplative, “Should I go back to the barracks and get my credit chip?”

“No,” Shockwave says immediately. “I’ll pay. I have more than enough saved.”

And that was technically true, on some level. Longarm certainly didn’t have savings tucked away, stuck on a recruit’s meager pension—barely enough to buy himself energon some days—but Shockwave did. And he was more than willing to use it for his own personal pursuits, even if he couldn’t transfer any shanix to Longarm’s accounts without suspicion.

“Are you sure?” Bumblebee asks, suddenly looking conflicted. Shockwave, with all he’s grown to understand Bumblebee, knows it’s the guilt of accepting someone paying for him. He even did the same with Bulkhead.

“Of course,” Shockwave says. He doesn’t bother to hide his affection and lets his optics soften. Bumblebee’s own frame seems to soften as well at the reassurance.

“If you say so,” he says. “The shuttles don’t run past ten hundred for recruits, right? Bulkhead mentioned it once but I don’t remember.”

Shockwave nods, turning to look at the shuttle schedule projected on the station wall. It’s only a little bit for show. Shockwave has forgotten exact times in the unfamiliar anxiety that seems to wrap itself around his spark.

“The shuttle should be here soon. Do you want to sit?” Shockwave gestures toward the bench that they’ve both avoided.

Bumblebee nods. He practically sprawls himself across the bench. Had it been anyone else, Shockwave might have found it annoying, but Bumblebee somehow makes the action endearing. Still, Shockwave nudges him, “Scoot over, please.”

Bumblebee grins—a little less nervous—at him but pulls his legs in nonetheless, “You really are this polite all the time, huh?” he asks.

“Is there a problem with that?” Shockwave raises an optical ridge as he sits down beside him. He does not betray the sudden shot of worry that shoots through him.

“Nah.” Bumblebee looks away and worries his lip, pulling his legs to his chest. “It’s cute.”

The latter is spoken quietly, but Shockwave’s audials, enhanced for Spec Ops, pick up the words easily. It’s flattering almost, making the part of Shockwave that harbors affection for Bumblebee warm.

“Do you mind if I stretch out?” Bumblebee asks after a moment. There’s barely a moment before he retracts his statement, though, speaking faster than Shockwave had ever thought him capable—and Shockwave had thought him capable of speed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. Just forget it.”

Bumblebee is already scrambling to pull himself even further away even as Shockwave tries to figure out what to say.

“It’s fine,” Shockwave blurts, reaching for Bumblebee before stopping himself. He forces himself back into a neutral position, watching Bumblebee with bright optics.

Bumblebee pauses, locking optics with Shockwave’s. There’s a moment where they’re both silent, before a shuttle pulls to a halt in front of the transport station.

“Our shuttle’s here,” Shockwave says awkwardly, drawing his gaze away.

Out of the corner of his optics, he can see Bumblebee nod. Shockwave stands and the shuttle’s doors open. It’s empty inside, something that is somehow both relieving and terrifying.

Shockwave fears that he’s already ruined his chances with Bumblebee. The awkwardness between them is almost palpable, even as they sit down and the shuttle takes off. The ride is equally grueling and silent. Shockwave does not know what to say.

Thankfully, Bumblebee can’t seem to stay quiet. It is something that Shockwave adores about him. “I, uh, sorry. For the shuttle station,” he says.

“There’s nothing to worry about, Bumblebee,” Shockwave says, trying to take his voice into the low tones of reassurance. Bulkhead would have been much better at calming him than Shockwave—than Longarm—but he’s not here now and Shockwave must try his best.

“I made it awkward,” Bumblebee says, averting his optics and deflating a bit, voice not quite dripping in self-flagellation.

“I’ve heard that all first dates are awkward. It’s nothing to worry about,” Shockwave says again. He cracks a smile that he hopes will reassure Bumblebee as the little mech looks back at him.

Bumblebee hesitates, but slowly smiles back. Shockwave’s smile turns genuine as it can be. It’s comforting to know that this has not been ruined yet.

“So, you going to reveal any more of your plans, Longy?” Bumblebee says. His voice isn’t quite light, but it’s not as strained as before. He sounds much closer to Shockwave’s friend rather than an awkward first date.

Good, Shockwave doesn’t want Bumblebee to be anything but himself.

Shockwave resolutely shakes his helm, “You’ll see when we get there, Bumblebee. But I think you’ll enjoy it.”

“How do you know?” Bumblebee shoots a bit more easily, a bit more petulantly.

“You trust your dear friend Longarm, don’t you?” Shockwave asks. It’s uncharacteristically teasing, but Bumblebee only seems to bring out all of the playful parts of him. “I’d never lead you astray.”

Bumblebee’s expression scrunches in false consideration before he nods, “Alright, I trust you.” The shuttle slows and comes to a stop. “But only because I won’t have to wait.”

Shockwave laughs lightly as Bumblebee shoots from his seat and out of the shuttle.

“C’mon, Longarm,” Bumblebee calls back, looking over his shoulder. “You’re being slow.”

“You don’t even know where we’re going,” Shockwave reminds, amused.

It causes Bumblebee to skid to a stop, turning to face him. “Then come on,” he demands again. He’s truly energetic now, as if their earlier fumbles had no affect on him at all. Shockwave admires his resilience.

“Demanding, aren’t you?” Shockwave says. It borders too much the thin line between personas. Shockwave would never say something so blasé but Longarm would never use quite the turn of phrase.

Bumblebee’s shoulders fall and his gaze turns downward. “That’s not a bad thing, right?”

“No. It’s very… you,” Shockwave says, meaning it. “It’s a part of what makes you so alluring.”

Bumblebee’s cheeks light up pink at the phrasing and a sense of victory pulses in Shockwave’s spark. Bumblebee was cute when he wasn’t being a little slagger, but Shockwave liked both sides of him.

Shockwave steps past him and Bumblebee catches his servo. When Shockwave looks down at him, Bumblebee is looking away from him, but his cheeks are still bright pink.

“Is this okay?” Bumblebee asks quietly.

Shockwave can practically feel his own frame melt, “Of course. Now, come on. We’re almost there.”

The walk to the diner fills with Bumblebee’s chatter once more. He never seems to be restrained by embarrassment or awkwardness. His whole demeanor seems to fight against it. Shockwave wonders if it’s him trying to combat it or if he is naturally like that, but he does not get to consider it for long. The diner, aptly named _Crossflight’s Diner,_ comes into view.

“Is that it?” Bumblebee asks as it does.

“Yes,” Shockwave confirms. “They have a large selection of energon and I never got to know your preferences.”

“Anything’s better than boot camp rations,” Bumblebee says, making a face at the thought. Shockwave could agree. The boot camp’s energon dispensers somehow made already bland energon taste worse.

“Agreed,” Shockwave says, letting Bumblebee slip through the door before him. “Will you pick a booth?”

Bumblebee takes the request in stride, grabbing a snug and cozy booth that sits right next to a window. It gives them a view of the street, shining with lights as the dark cycle becomes more pronounced.

“This will work, right?” Bumblebee asks.

Shockwave nods, “Yes. The streets get quite lovely at this time of the cycle. There are less bots obscuring the lights.”

Bumblebee looks out, optics shooting around so fast Shockwave would think he’d get a helmache were he not _Bumblebee._ “It is pretty. But it seems empty,” he says.

“That’s true,” Shockwave admits.

He picks up the menu on the table. “Do you want to look at the menu or do you have something in mind already?”

“Do they have anything sweet?” Bumblebee asks as he looks back at him.

Shockwave nods. He says, “They have a cobalt and copper mix. I hear it’s rather sweet.”

Bumblebee looks practically enthused as he nods, “Get me that then. I love that stuff.”

“I’ve never tried it,” Shockwave admits as he makes his own selection.

“You can try some of mine,” Bumblebee tells him.

The idea itself is sweet but it makes heat rush to Shockwave’s—to Longarm’s cheeks. He wonders if he’s as pink as he feels.

A serving drone wanders over, placing a tray in front of them both before wheeling away. “What kind did you get?” Bumblebee asks curiously.

Shockwave takes the silver speckled energon into his servo. “It’s zinc,” he informs dutifully, taking a sip of it.

Bumblebee takes a sip of his own energon, humming at the sweet taste. “Mind if I give it a try?”

Shockwave passes the cube off to him and watches him take a delicate sip. His expression scrunches, “How do you drink this stuff?” he complains. “It’s sour.”

“And I imagine yours is overwhelmingly sweet,” Shockwave says. He takes a sip of Bumblebee’s discarded cube just to make a point and finds himself right. It practically makes his denta hurt.

Bumblebee huffs, lightly shoving Shockwave’s cube toward him and stealing his own from Shockwave’s servo.

“Any other plans, Longy?”

“I was going to take you dancing,” Shockwave admits. “But most of the clubs don’t allow recruits inside. Highgrade regulations.”

“It’s fine. We can always dance some other time,” Bumblebee says. “There are no rules against ballroom dancing in the barracks, even if Wasp and Ironhide might make fun of us for it.”

“That’s true,” Shockwave concedes, smiling once more. Bumblebee always seemed to be able to make him smile. “I’m not much good at dancing, though.”

“I can teach you. I’m good at all sorts of dancing.” Bumblebee reaches across the table to take Shockwave’s servo in his own. His optics are soft and hold something Shockwave can’t name.

It makes Shockwave want to kiss him again.

“You going to kiss me or not, hot shot?” Bumblebee asks, a teasing echo of the statement that preceded their first kiss.

“Perhaps not in public,” Shockwave says a bit breathlessly, toeing the thin line between himself and someone else once more.

Bumblebee looks smug, like that’s exactly the answer he was expecting. It reminds Shockwave that Bumblebee, for all his awkwardness, is full of bravado and he knows how to use it.

Half a joor passes before they’re stumbling out of the diner, Bumblebee laughing at his own joke. Shockwave can’t help but be caught up in the same breathless euphoria.

“Kiss me now?” Bumblebee requests, optics crinkling at the edges.

“We’re still in public,” Shockwave reminds.

Still, Bumblebee tugs him down. Shockwave meets him in a sloppy yet chaste kiss.

After a moment, Shockwave pulls away, “Ready to go back?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Bumblebee responds.

The way back to the shuttle of a blur and the ride itself is quiet. Bumblebee’s chatter falls away within breems and Shockwave feels a weight on his shoulder moments later. Looking down at Bumblebee, he’s met with the littler mech in peaceful recharge.

It’s cute and gorgeous and enamoring.

Shockwave wraps his arms around him, pulling him closer and holding him, bathing in the perfection of the moment.


End file.
